Defining Opportunities for Pharmacists in Global Public Health in Resource Limited Countries

With the profession of pharmacy globally shifting towards more patient-centered services than product-centered services, there still remains the question of what the role of the pharmacist can be as not only a patient care provider, but also a public health practitioner. As one of the most accessible healthcare providers, pharmacists worldwide are exploring how they can better protect and promote the health of their communities. While high-income countries have more established patient-centered services with public health implications, such as vaccinations, disease state management, and lifestyle counseling among others, poor countries lack recognition of these services, which can hinder their adoption and spread throughout this part of the world. Low to middle-income countries though often are in the greatest need of these services where they often face the double burden of both communicable and non-communicable diseases. Compounding this issue is that not only do poor nations have a higher disease burden, but also have a greater shortage of health care workers including pharmacists. There are several areas of need and opportunity for pharmacists in resource-limited countries to engage in public health services. With the global health care worker shortage, pharmacists can help fulfil roles in primary care and extend their responsibilities to increase coverage in gaps of care. Supply chain management is another essential opportunity given the unique medication knowledge pharmacists have in combination with their familiarity with workflow and operations of a pharmacy. Additionally, medication safety and adherence continues to be a significant issue as low to middle-income countries address falsified and substandard medications. In order for pharmacists to be engaged in these and other services such as immunizations, government and association leaders should assess how pharmacists can better be recognized and integrated within the public health infrastructure and systems within resource-limited areas.Master of Public Healt